German city battles elusive new-look neo-Nazis

Sunday, 14 October 2012 17:41

Germany's neo-Nazis are hanging up their bomber jackets, unlacing their black leather boots and even grabbing a bite to eat at their local Turkish kebab shop.

Eschewing their predecessors' fierce aversion to anything "un-German", they blend into the local community and easily escape detection. But police and experts say this new generation of young fascists is potentially far more dangerous and reckless than their older peers.

"Today a neo-Nazi can eat Turkish kebabs and still go out and beat up immigrants," said journalist Johannes Radke, who has reported on the German far-right for more than a decade.

"They say, 'We'll let everyone do whatever they want as long as they're a Nazi at heart.'"

Headquartered in the down-at-heel western industrial city of Dortmund, a new group known as the Autonomous Nationalists AN.L is at the forefront of this transformation.